Nitrogen relations of ruderal communities (Rumicion alpini) in the Northern Calcareous Alps

✍ Scribed by H. Rehder

• Book ID: 104750272
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1982
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 898 KB
• Volume: 55
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0029-8549
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00386727

✦ Synopsis

The total nitrogen and nitrate turnovers of three plots of plant communities typical of cattle resting sites in the Bavarian Alps were investigated. Annual net N mineralisation of the soil and N content of the above-ground phytomass at maximum development are low in the Senecio cordatus dominated community "W" at 1,450 m altitude (80 and 57 kg N/ha respectively) and highest in the nearly pure Rumex alpinus stand "K" (1,240 m) (156 and 148 kg N/ha). The subalpine mixed Rumex alpinus community "S" (1,790 m) is intermediate with low mineralisation but high N content in the aboveground parts (69 and 128 kg N/ha). In general the mineralisation values are below those from other comparable plant communities. The main component of N mineralisation is nitrification in all three plots.The nitrate content in the phytomass at full development increases from 0.1 g/m in W to 0.3 g/m in S and to 1.0 g/m in K. With one exception (Adenostyles alliariae) no species showed a real nitrate accumulation in the leaf laminae towards the end of the growing season.